Constable: 'The King' is dead, but the legend lives in St. Charles
Hailed as "The King" of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley died in 1977 at age 42. The following 41 years without Elvis have been filled with Elvis Presley tribute artists and people who insist that Elvis faked his death and is still alive and living a simple life.
"People love him. If people want to celebrate Elvis, we'll help them celebrate," says Hal Barth, director of sales and marketing at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, where "the Midwest's Foremost Three-Day Elvis Festival" this weekend offers an Elvis for everyone. There's the young 1950s crooner in the gold lamé suit, the 1960s rocker in black leather, and the 1970s mature Elvis in the white jumpsuit. A crowd of 400 to 500 fans is expected to fill the St. Charles ballroom for three days of shows.
"We're anticipating a bunch of these folks will be 55 or older," says Barth, who is 62.
"I don't know that any performers on the scene today ever saw Elvis," says Jason Sherry, whose production company owns the Elvis Festival. A "Reflections of Elvis" show features Dwight Icenhower, an Elvis tribute artist from Orlando, Fla., who was born four years after Elvis died. Other Elvis tribute artists performing this weekend include Dean Z, who lives in Branson, Missouri, and started his Elvis act at age 3 while watching "This Is Elvis" on television; Milwaukee's Jesse Aron; Taylor Rodriguez of Virginia; Diogo Light of Brazil; Ben Portsmouth of the United Kingdom; and more. Tickets are available at chicagolandelvisfestival.com. How can a tribute career last longer than Elvis' career?
"If you're an Elvis fan, you don't need an explanation," Sherry says. "If you are not an Elvis fan, no explanation will do."
Sherry says fest-goers generally fall into three categories: older people "who saw Elvis in concert and fell in love" with the performer, people who had tickets to Elvis concerts in 1977 that were canceled because of illness or were canceled after his death, and people who were exposed to Elvis through their parents "and their grandparents."
Pheasant Run Resort opened in 1963, the year when Elvis filmed "Viva Las Vegas" with Ann-Margret and saw his girlfriend and future wife, Priscilla, graduate from high school. People old enough to remember events of 55 years ago like to have those memories rekindled, Barth says.
"So, in that way, it makes a ton of sense to have Elvis here at Pheasant Run," Barth says. "We have people walking in the door all the time saying, 'I haven't been here since I was a kid,' or 'I remember swimming in that pool,' or 'My prom was here.'"
Elvis Festival is popular with the Pheasant Run staff, some of whom requested to work the shows, Barth says.
"We'd love to make this an annual event at Pheasant Run," says Sherry, who also puts on Elvis Festivals in Memphis, Las Vegas and on two cruise ships stopping in Cuba and Mexico. Last month, an Elvis album produced in part by his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums.
Barth, who admits that neither he nor his parents were Elvis fans during The King's heyday, says the tribute artists do have some weekend competition at Pheasant Run. Jim Morrison died in 1971 at age 27, but The Doors of Chicago tribute band hits the Pheasant Run stage Saturday, as did the Fifty Shades of Men group featuring former Chippendales dancers, the En Tu Abrazo Encuentro Milonguero gathering of tango dancers, and the 59th Annual Coin & Currency Show sponsored by the Illinois Numismatic Association.
"The nice thing about Pheasant Run is we have different venues," Barth says, noting that guests can find their private spot on the 250-acre resort that includes several stages, four restaurants, a golf course and Zanies comedy club. "They might meet in the elevator."
Big stars have played at Pheasant Run, such as singer Kenny Rogers, whose last appearance was a Christmas concert in 1997, and a host of comedians, including Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Jay Leno, Roseanne, Jeff Garlin, Howie Mandel and Elayne Boosler.
"But I'm sure Elvis wasn't here," Barth says. "I'd know that."
The resort embraces the Elvis vibe with specialty drinks such as the Elvis Martini, Jailhouse on the Rocks, Blue Suede Shoes and Burnin' Love Sangria, as well as special Elvis spa treatments such as the Falling in Love With You couples massage, the Nothing but a Hound Dog pedicure, the Love Me Tender Mud Wrap and the Don't Be Cruel therapeutic massage.
Given that Elvis overload, it wouldn't be surprising if someone claims to see an 83-year-old man with sideburns sitting by the Pheasant Run pool nursing a banana-flavored martini ordered "all shook up."